Improvement in the valve-gear of steam-engines



NITED Tn'rns Arent trice.

HENRY T. CARTER, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 42,272, dated April 12,1864.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY T. CARTER, a resident of Portland, in thecounty of Gumberland and State of Maine, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in the Steam- Engine; and I do hereby declare the same to befully described in the following specification, and represented in theaccompanyin g drawings, of which- Figure l denotes a vertical section ofa steam-engine as constructed with my invention. Fig. 2 is a fac-e viewof the valve seat. Fig. 3 is an external view of the rotary valve. Fig.4 is an inner side view of it. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of thevalve, its case, the valve-seat, and the induction and eduction ports ofthe steam chest and cylinder.

My invention consists in the combination of a rotary valve apparatus,made substantially as described, with the fly-wheel shaft in manner sothat the rotary valve or its spindle or stem shall be applied to, and sothat the valve shall be rotated with and by the said shaft while thelatter may be in revolution.

In the drawings, A denotes the steam cylinder, of which B is the piston.The said piston, by a connecting-rod, C, is joined to a working beam orlever, D, which has another connecting-rod, E, leading from it to thccrank E of the iiy-wheel shaftvF.

In my improved engine, the working-beam travels in a plane which is at aright angle to that of the ily-wheel G, and cutting the axis of theily-wheel longitudinally.

The steamchest of the cylinder is shown at H, is placed against the sideof the cylinder and with its axis in range of that of the ilywheelshaft. This chest is a cylindrical box having in its bottom avalve-seat, s, formed circular and made with two induction ports, a b,and one eduction port, c, leading from or through it, and arranged asshown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The rotary valve I, which is placed within the steam-chest Hfand restsagainst its bottom or valve-seat, is made as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5,it being provided with a sectoral chamber, d, and two port-coveringsurfaces, e j', arranged together or in a circle, as shown in Fig. 4.The valve is a sector of a circle somewhat greater than a semicircle,and may be provided with an extension, g, which, however, is'notessential to it, although advantageous. The two flat valve-surfaces, ecover the ports a b when directly over or on them. The chamber d, by arecess 0r extension, h, of it, communicates freely with the eductionportc. The ports or passages a, b respectively lead to the two ends of theinterior of the cylinder. The spindle or stem F of the valve I is fixeddirectly to the end of the shaft F, and so as to be revolved with and byit. During arevolution of the valve the steam, when in the chest H, willbe caused to flow into and be discharged from the cylinder in suchmanner as to move the piston in opposite directions therein, the steam`discharged from the cylinder being caused to rush into the. chamber dof the valve I, and from thence into and through the eductionport c.

Instead of applying the valve I or its stem directly to the fly-wheelshaft, in manner as above described, I have contemplated an arrangement,such as is shown in Fig. 6, wherein the cylinder is represented at A andthe ilywheel shaft at B. The said fly-wheel shaft has a crank, C, whichis operated by a connectingrod, D, leading directly from the piston rod.A bevel-gear, a, on the fly-wheel shaft, engages with anotherbevel-gear, b, fixed on one end of another shaft, c, which is dulysupported in bearings d d and carries on its other end anotherbevel-gear, e, which engages with a bevel-gear, f, fixed on the spindleor stem of the rotary valve whose steam-chest is shown at g. By thisarrangement the rotary valve or its stem is not affixed to the fly-wheelshaft, but is operated by the gears a b e j and the shaft c.

Instead of the gears a b e f and the shaft c, au eccentric or a crankmay be affixed to the fly-wheel shaft and be made to operate the rotaryvalve by means of a crank and a suitable connecting-rod or mechanism.Furthermore, when the spindle of the rotary valve is directly applied tothe ily-wheel shaft, or arranged with respect to it, as shown in Fig. 1,the connection of the two should be such as to allow of the rotary valvebeing moved up to or kept in close contact with its seat from time totime, as the two may become more or less worn on their surfaces incontact.

The advantages of the rotary valve over the common slide valve are, thatit not only can be separated by the fly-wheel shaft connected iXed toand so as t0 be rotated with and by directly to it or its spindle, but,byits peculiar the said shaft While such shaft may be in modeofoperation, it maintains a better steamrevolution. joint With its seat.

I claim- The arrangement of the cylinder, the iiy- Wheel shaft, and therotary valve in manner so that the valve 0r its spindle shall be af-HENRY T. CARTER.

Witnesses:

GEO. E. B. JAOKSQN, PATRICK J. C@ RB `;TT.

